_____ sighed as she pulled into the student parking lot. It wasn't because she would suffer from a boring day at school. No, she would be suffering from the lovely hell that is band camp. She played the clarinet in her high school marching band, which meant that band camp was mandatory.

'At least this is my last year of it,' she thought, climbing out her car. This was her senior year, which, in marching band, came with two perks (excluding the obvious seniority): being section leader and only having one more year of band camp.

When _____ turned around, another car parked right next to hers, being very careful not to hit her. The car parked, and out climbed Alfred, Feliciano, Gilbert, and Ludwig.

Feliciano smiled and waved at _____. "Ciao, sorella!"

She smiled as they came toward her. "Hey, guys. Thanks for coming. We could use all the help we can get out here."

"Yeah, that's for sure," said Alfred, wiping his forehead with his arm. "It's hot as blue blazes out here."

_____ nodded. "Well, I've suffered from this crap the most, so don't complain" Before she could say anything else, _____ was tackled to the ground. After a few seconds of being pressed to the ground, she pushed her boyfriend off and sat up. "Gil, don't do that on concrete."

Gilbert kissed his girlfriend on the cheek. "Sorry," he said with a smirk.

"If you two are done," said Ludwig, "we should get going."

Gilbert stood up. "Ja. You should get going, _____."

After helping _____ up, Gilbert and the rest of the group made their way to the band room. The week before, _____ had begged the four to come to band camp with her to, if anything, just help out (refill water coolers, pass out wet rags, etc.). They had agreed and were excited at first, but now that they were here and under the blazing sun, they were beginning to regret it (except Ludwig, who could handle that kind of crap like a pro).

==========

"ARGH!" _____ stomped down the sidewalk to the practice field, the boys with every step of the way. "Halfway done." It was now the second half of day three at band camp, Wednesday, around 2:30 in the afternoon.

Gilbert wrapped an arm around her waist. "Ja. I don't know how you deal with this every year. This is even worse than bruder's training. And then there's the heat."

She smiled a knowing smile, fixing her Frogg Togg around her neck. "You get used to it."

Feliciano stared at _____, dumbfounded. "How do you get used to this?! It's really, really hot!"

She shrugged. "You just do."

When everyone had assembled on the practice field, the band director instructed the band to split up into sectionals. Since _____ was a senior, she was section leader, which meant she was I charge of the other clarinet players.

"Alright guys, get into two rows for me," _____ commanded to the lowerclassmen. After giving the command, she dressed the lines using two yard lines and the home sideline.

"Okay," she said after dressing the lines, "let's just go forward eight and backwards eight for right now."

She counted the group off and inspected their marching. Surprisingly, the sophomores and freshmen were doing great. Most of the juniors were fineexcept one.

_____ scowled at the junior. "Tori," she called when they finished. "You were just walking."

Victoria (a.k.a. Tori) raised an eyebrow. "And?"

_____ raised both of hers. "And we're in marching band. We don't walk. We march."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "This is so retarded."

_____ was about to go off on her when the band director called for a water break and added, "Section leaders, come here for a minute."

Before going to the director, she glared at Victoria. "Get serious." She turned and walked away, feeling a slight pain in her head.

Victoria was left by herself, mulling over what just happened. She was very displeased, to say the least, and began thinking of a way to get back at _____. She looked over at the men that had followed _____ there, paying special attention to the Prussian putting a soaking wet rag on his white head. She knew Gilbert was _____'s boyfriend, and decided to do something that would really piss _____ off.

She walked over to him, saying, "So, how long have you and _____ been dating?"

The albino looked at her, water from the rag dripping down his face and onto his bare chest. "About eight months now," he said bluntly. "You're one of _____'s little slaves, aren't you?"

Victoria glanced over to where _____ was with the band director and the other section leaders. If she was going to do this, she would have to do it at the right moment.

And she did. She grabbed Gilbert's shoulders and pulled his face closer to hers, causing their lips to meet awkwardly. Gilbert was shocked and froze for a moment. But that moment was all it took, because _____ turned around the second they kissed.

_____'s face flushed from anger. "Get the hell away from him!"

Victoria calmly pulled away as _____ rushed toward the two. Unlike what Victoria had expected, _____ passed right by Gilbert and went straight for her, grabbing her tank top and pulling her to close proximity. "What the hell are you doing with him?! Who do you think you are, trying to do something like that?! What the hell's the matter with you?!"

"_____!" yelled Gilbert. "Calm down!"

_____ shoved Victoria away and looked at him, hurt filling her eyes. Gilbert noticed and reached out his hand, "_____, it wasn't what you think"

Before either one could get another word out, the band director called for the band to go to opening set. Hesitantly, _____ walked back onto the practice field, grabbing her clarinet on the way. Gilbert got himself a cup of water and plopped down on the ground, putting together what had just happened. He then realized that he needed to explain himself to _____ as soon as possible.

He stared at _____ as she marched across the field. Her form and posture were perfect, and she stayed in step even when everyone around her wasn't. He smiled at her resilience. That was one of the many reasons why he loved her. God, he loved her. He loved her more than anything. That was why he needed to apologize. He didn't want to lose her, especially over something like this.

Moving her feet to the beat, _____ smoothly marched from set to set. She kept her eyes on Gilbert, only glancing around occasionally to check her location and intervals. Her mouth felt dry as she played. She hadn't had anything to drink for about two hours now, which, in this heat, was not good. She rotated her shoulders and tilted her head back for a second, attempting to make her Frogg Togg release some water and cool her off a little. It didn't do very much, and she stopped playing to breathe through her mouth. Sweat poured down her face, neck, and back. She was severely overheated. She needed water now. The pain in her head returned and intensified, impairing her vision and coordination. The pain grew tenfold for a split-second before her tired body fell to the ground.

Although they were paused at their sets, it took everyone a moment to realize that _____ was unconscious. Excluding Gilbert, who had been staring _____ the whole time, Anna, the flute section leader and one of _____'s friends, was the first to notice.

Anna bent down and gently shook her. "_____? Are you"

"_____!" Gilbert came running onto the field toward his girlfriend. He knelt down beside her and held head in his big hand. "Schatz?" Gilbert's heart sank when he saw that she wasn't breathing. He looked back at Alfred. "Alfred!" he called in a panicked tone. "Call for an ambulance!"

Alfred quickly carried out the order while Gilbert began performing CPR on _____. "Come on," he mumbled. "Come on. Come on." As he repeatedly pressed his hands down on her chest, he looked at _____'s unconscious face. She was so pale, so lifeless. He couldn't stand to see his sweetheart like that. Just the very sight made his heart break.

At this time, everybody, including Alfred, Ludwig, and Feliciano, had gathered around the scene. Ludwig had grabbed several wet rags on the way over and started to slowly place them on _____'s forehead, neck, and continuously running one across her cheeks. He tossed her Frogg Togg to Feliciano and told him to soak it in the ice water where they got the wet rags from. Feliciano obeyed, running to and from the cooler as fast as he could, and all the while sobbing and begging for God to let his "sorella" be alright.

"Okay. Thanks," said Alfred as he ended the emergency call on his cell phone. "An ambulance is in its way."

They nodded emphatically, Gilbert still trying to get _____ to breathe. Feliciano knelt down next to _____'s head and gently placed the now soaking wet Frogg Togg on her neck, pressing the ends to her cheeks for a moment. "Sorella. . ." he whispered, tears running down his face.

"Come one, _____," mumbled Gilbert. "Stay with me."

"My god, you guys," said a voice behind the group. "Stop getting all worried. She's obviously faking it to see if Gil still has the hots for her."

"That's a lie!" exclaimed Feliciano. "Sorella would never joke about something like that!"

Gilbert turned to Victoria, glaring at her the same way _____ did. He stood up, Ludwig taking control of the CPR. "Does this look fake to you?! Look at her! You think she's playing around?! Get it through your head! She's not joking! Und neither are we!"

Victoria's eyes were wide and her already red cheeks were even redder. She looked away from Gilbert and slowly walked off.

Soon after, the ambulance came, and _____ was carried on. Gilbert started to climb in when he was stopped by one of the paramedics. "Sorry, son. You can't come in."

Gilbert was in a state of panic right now, eyes widened and hair sloppily hanging in his face. "Nein! I have to be in there!"

The paramedic looked quickly at _____, then back at Gilbert. "Are you her boyfriend, or something?" he asked in a monotonous, but still sympathetic voice.

As they drove away from the school campus, Gilbert sat transfixed beside _____, watching every movement the paramedics made like a guard dog. When the paramedics finished reaching across the back of the ambulance for things and finally relaxed, Gilbert took _____'s hand in his. It felt so tiny in his, so fragile. She seemed so fragile. He lifted it up and kissed it lightly.

"Schatz?" he said quietly. "Can you hear me? It's Gilbert. You're going to be fine. I promise. We're on our way to the hospital now." He watched as one of the paramedics stuck an IV into _____'s right arm, flinching when it pierced her skin. He knew how much _____ hated needles, and also knew she wouldn't be too happy when she woke up and saw an IV in her arm.

That is, if she woke up.

Gilbert shook his head furiously, wanting desperately to rid himself of that thought. He tightened his grip on her hand. "_____, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." He waited a moment, but her hand remained motionless. "Schatz? Please, squeeze my hand. Move your fingers. Do something! I need to know you're still there! Please, _____! I love you!"

Despite all his efforts, _____ didn't move. Aside from the occasional shake that was sent through the ambulance, she stayed completely still. Gilbert panicked, but before he could do anything, the ambulance came to a stop and the paramedics carried _____ out and into the emergency entrance of a hospital. He followed them all the way to Trauma Room 1, where he was left outside while the doctors helped _____. He looked through the slender window, seeing a small group of doctors and nurses crowded around _____. His heart lodged in his throat when he saw a doctor pull out a defibrillator.

Gilbert backed away from the door to the other side of the hallway. He couldn't take any more of this. He sank down to the floor against the wall with his legs close to his chest and arms covering his head. And at that instant, he began to cry.

"Please, _____," he whispered, his voice failing him as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Please, don't go."

Gilbert remained in that state until the doors to Trauma Room 1 opened an hour later. He quickly wiped away his tears and stood up as _____ was being rolled out.

"_____--" He started to follow when a doctor grabbed his arm.

"Are you a friend of hers?" he asked.

Gilbert looked at the doctor and nodded. "Ja. I'm . . . her boyfriend." He glanced down the hallway in the direction _____ was being rolled. "What's wrong with her?"

The doctor sighed slightly. "She suffered what looks like a stroke. Fortunately, only a minor one. Was she doing anything strenuous prior?"

"J-Ja. She was outside for several hours."

The doctor nodded. "Can give me some information about her?"

Gilbert blinked. "Like what?"

The doctor chuckled. "Well, her name is a good start." He held out his hand. "I'm Doctor Evans."

After two more hours, the hospital had enough information on _____ to go with, Gilbert had called the other boys to tell them at what hospital they were, and had told _____'s parents about the situation. Now came the difficult part: the visit.

Gilbert stood in front of the doorway of _____'s room in the ICU. His stomach was in knots as he thought of what to say, what to expect. He hesitantly opened the door and what he saw made the knots in his stomach grow tighter. _____ lay in the deep hospital bed with multiple IV's sticking into her arm and a tube wrapped around her head sending oxygen into her nostrils. She was asleep but still very pale and lifeless.

_____ looked at him, and could see that behind the smile plastered on his face was fear and worry. She weakly rose up her hand to his face. "You okay?" she said, her voice only a whisper.

Gilbert sighed and took her hand in his. "Ja. I just . . . got scared. . . When I saw you lying there. . . It scared me a lot. . ."

_____ closed her eyes. "Yeah. . ."

He kissed her hand. "Ich liebe dich, schatz. Und I'm sorry about earlier with that other girl."

She smiled warmly. "It's okay. And I love you, too."

==========

"Man, the show looks great from here!" said _____ as she took a sip of her Coke.

"Ja."

Due to her heat stroke, _____ was not allowed to participate in any strenuous activity for a long time. Unfortunately, marching band was included in the list, so she was no longer able to be in marching band. Two months later, _____ came to her first football game of the season just to see her band's halftime show (and to see her football team kick some butt). After a bit of convincing, she managed to get Ludwig, Feliciano, Gilbert, and Alfred to come with her (although Alfred didn't need much convincing).

Alfred sipped his drink, then realized it was empty. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go get a refill. Anyone want anything?"

_____ handed him a few dollars out of her wallet. "Yeah, get me a pretzel."

Feliciano gave Alfred money and his order before Alfred left for the concession stand. _____ watched the band as they marched gracefully across the field. The show was so wonderful, and all the band members were so happy to be in band and loving every minute of it. It made her smile while she looked on. But it also made her sad when she thought about not being able to be there, not being able to share in those memories. She leaned her head on Gilbert's shoulder. Hot tears threatened to leave her eyes, but she kept them back. She wouldn't allow them to see her like this.

She sniffled, causing Gilbert to look at her. "Are you okay, schatz?"

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine."

The show ended, and _____ stood up and cheered loudly for her band. After a moment of joyous "Whoo!"-ing, she sat back down next to her boyfriend, still feeling a hint of disappointment.

Before she could object, Gilbert wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to him. He kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted to be in it. I'm sorry that you couldn't."

_____ nuzzled his neck. "It's not your fault. You couldn't control what my body wanted to do." She sighed, letting out a small, humorless laugh. "You might be a band nerd if you cry when you find out you can't be in band."

Gilbert smiled sadly. He knew _____ almost never cried, and would only cry if she was either extremely depressed or extremely frustrated. In this case, it was both. He kissed her cheek. "You know what?"

She looked up at him. "What?"

"Ich liebe dich immer noch," he whispered into her ear, sending chills down her spine.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Ich liebe dich auch." She closed the space between them with a warm, gentle kiss. After a moment Gilbert deepened the kiss and cupped _____'s cheek in his palm.

"Ahem."

The two pulled away and looked at Alfred, who had a pretzel in one hand and a hot dog and Coke in the other. He was standing on the bleachers in front of them with an arched eyebrow. "You guys done?"

Gilbert raised eyebrow and dipped _____, kissing her passionately in front of the other boys. He released her and said to Alfred, "How's that?"

_____ nudged his shoulder before she took the pretzel from Alfred and thanked him.

"If you two are going to make out, please at least don't do it in public," commented Ludwig.

_____ laughed. "Sure, Luddy." She watched the two football teams run around on the field, thinking about how graceless somebody looks on the field when they're not marching. She smiled sadly and sighed. "You know, I may be sad that I'm not in band anymore, but at least I've got you guys." She looked at Gilbert. "At least I've got you."

A little series I wanted to do because I just got done with band camp. I made the reader play the clarinet because it's light, versatile, and it's what I play. By the way, if your name is Victoria (or you have a friend named Victoria, etc.)... sorry...

This reminds me of the time I almost passed out on national television mid-parade a few months ago...We represented Pennsylvania in the National Memorial Day parade in D.C. I was a flute between the 2 piccolos in the last row of the parade block. It was over 100 degrees out, with not a cloud in the sky, and we have thick, black, wool uniforms that are designed for winter in the mountains, not the summer in D.C. I had to drop out and sit on the side of the road with my dad (Who had taken time out of his government job to watch, and just so happened to be nearby.), water, and the assistant band director for the rest of the parade. My dad walked me to his car and drove me to meet the band where they had gone to eat after the parade.

Lord... o_o I've never had anything like that happen to me, but it's happened plenty of times with my band friends (I guess I'm just that tough... ^^ ). It's even worse with our weather the way it is, what with the usual high in the summer being around 100 degrees...and even in the winter it's still in the 80s... -_- Why's it always gotta be so hot?!

Well, it's usually around 100 in the summer here (Band camp time) but we just wear t-shirts, shorts, hats, whatever, not the thick uniforms. Let's just put things this way: Last year, there was a snowstorm (about 3 feet or so) the night before ACC's in October. It usually starts snowing at some point during football games. I'm fine with this, since I'm impervious to cold, but I have a very low heat tolerance.

I'm pretty tolerant to heat (since that's all we get here XD ), but I can't really take much cold. I'm so used to the heat that every time it gets under 60 degrees I start shivering and yelling out, "IT'S SO COLD!"

wonderous story! I have to say a flute is a far better weapon! XDDD(I play the flute BTW) but I'm not in marching band yet...thank god....at the school I'm going to go to they do pull ups,push ups and run laps around the school.......its a big school........ and we band geeks will always win! XD

Ohmygersh this was so weird, but I just joined marching band and went to my first band camp last month,I play clarinet too, and the biggest jerk at my school is a girl named Victoria(or Tori)......Cute story btw

Also, a Frogg Togg is this weird (but insanely cool) piece of cloth that's modified to retain water like a frog's skin. It's kind of like a ShamWOW that comes in different colors and kind of feels a little like a frog's skin. They really come in handy at band camp. "